From the Inside Flap
What’s NEW inside 2016 edition with the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World?

The 2016 edition has fabulous new trip planning tools and is also completely re-organized for easier reading. Here are the highlights:

The Introduction includes a new chart showing what’s new in Walt Disney World over yesteryear 2, 5, and decade. If you haven’t visited Disney World shortly, fundamental essentials highlights for your trip.

Part 1 – Planning Before You Leave Home comes with a excellent new trip planning timeline. A vacation to Disney World is different than other places, because there’s more demand than supply for top rides, restaurants, and hotels. This new timeline shows when you are able make those reservations, and where from the book to study for more information.

Part 2 – Time and Money includes a new chart showing just how much Disney vacation your loved ones can get for $500, $1000, $1500, and $2000. The #1 thing most individuals are unprepared for will be the cost of a Disney trip, which means this chart shows what you could get at different price points, along with the tradeoffs being made for different budgets.

Other new and updated things in Part 2 include: A new section showing the best way to save $400 on the trip; updates to how FastPass+ affects your wait in line at specific attractions; plus the latest on Disney admission prices, including how to locate the best Disney ticket discounts.

Part 3 – Accommodations Includes updated reviews of Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and Villas, the Polynesian Village Resort and Villas, upcoming construction at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge and Villas; the B Resort with the Disney Springs Resort Area, and knowledge on the modern budget hotels opening at Disney’s Flamingo Crossings in 2016. We’ve also updated the “best rooms to request” and room diagrams for any Disney resort.

This section includes the new rules for Disney’s Dining Plan, spelling out Disney’s expanded policy on which counts to be a snack.

Part 4 – Dining We moved this section on the book toward the leading, because dining is definately an important part of planning your Disney vacation. We’ve got reviews of recent restaurants include The Boathouse at Disney Springs and Harambe Market for the Animal Kingdom, plus updates to a multitude of restaurant reviews throughout Walt Disney World.

Part 5 –Walt Disney World with Kids includes new ideas for discount stroller rental companies in Orlando. These companies offer cheaper rates than Disney for too long stays, much more comfortable strollers, and they’ll even leave and acquire at your resort. We’ve also got the modern on best places to meet the Disney characters each and every park, and how to find the best character meals.

Part 7 – Arriving and Getting Around has new reviews in the Uber and Lyft ride-sharing apps when getting around Walt Disney World and Orlando. (Spoiler alert: Uber involved half the valuation on a taxi during our test trips over identical routes.) We’ve also got updates on bus transportation times between every Disney resort and theme park.

Part 9 – The Magic Kingdom Includes a new chart showing when each Magic Kingdom attraction typically runs out of FastPass+ reservations in daytime. This is what you need to understand when you’re choosing your advance FastPass+ reservations, because it’ll teach you what the high-demand rides are to finding 2 months before your visit, and that may wait until you’re within the park. We’ve also got new dining charts, showing the Magic Kingdom’s best restaurants for counter-service and sit-down restaurants in each area.

Other new or updated features include: Our favorite new spots for watching the Wishes fireworks, news on Adventureland’s new Skipper’s Cantina restaurant, and how you can navigate round the park’s parades. Our Magic Kingdom touring plans include new tips on which attractions make best using FastPass+, and what time you should make those reservations. Finally, we’ve got new behind-the-scenes anecdotes from Disney historian Jim Hill.

Part 10 – Epcot As with the Magic Kingdom, the Epcot chapter includes the newest day-of FastPass+ availability chart, and new dining chart showing the very best restaurants from the park.
We cover the Frozen-themed attractions in Norway that open in 2016: the Frozen Ever After boat ride, and Royal Sommerhaus princess meet-and-greet. The chapter includes updates within the closure of Innoventions West, advice on visiting The Seas during the night, and whether IllumiNations is often a good usage of FastPass+. Jim Hill has many new anecdotes, too.

Part 11 – Disney’s Animal Kingdom includes the revolutionary day-of FastPass+ availability chart, and new dining chart showing the most effective restaurants inside park. We’ve also got new reviews to the park’s expanded Discovery Island Trails, and several information around the new nighttime Rivers of Light reveal that opens in 2016. That show intentions to expand afternoon crowds on the park, so we’ve got new tips on the best way to avoid traffic inside park, too. There’s another new list of Animal Kingdom stories from Jim Hill.

Part 12 – Disney’s Hollywood Studios The big news here, and it’s controversial, is the fact that we recommend skipping the Studios on trips of just one to 3 days. There are so many closed or outdated attractions with the park that it’s not worth your hard-earned $80 to $100 of admission. And while Disney should eventually announce formal plans for major Star Wars- and Pixar-themed expansions, it’ll take years for those to get finished. In the meantime, we propose Universal Studios rather.

If you’ve got more time with your trip, our updated Studios coverage includes the modern day-of FastPass+ availability chart, and new dining chart showing the very best restaurants within the park. The chapter has a new writeup on For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-a-Long Celebration, plus new insider stories from Jim Hill.

Parts 13 to 15 cover the expansions at Universal Studios Florida, including the revolutionary Skull Island: Reign of Kong attraction scheduled to look at in 2016, the brand new, moderately-priced Sapphire Falls resort also opening in 2016. We also cover the revolutionary restaurants at Universal CityWalk: NBC Sports Grill & Brew, by having an on-site microbrewery, Cowfish sushi and burgers (they’re delicious), plus much more. Finally, we make you stay updated for the latest Harry Potter news at Diagon Alley and Hogwarts Castle.

Two more big changes to bring up: We’ve consolidated our own nightlife and shopping coverage in to a single chapter covering Disney Springs and Universal CityWalk. Both Disney and Universal are putting huge amounts of money into ambitious expansion plans for these particular shopping/dining/entertainment complexes. We’ve unified our coverage of these right into a single chapter, enabling you to see in one place everything that’s obtainable in each location.

We’ve also consolidated our coverage of Disney’s recreation, sports, and spa options right into a new chapter, so that you can see all with the options available to all your family members in a single place. The chapter includes new sections on runDisney, Disney’s ever-expanding lineup of family-friendly distance races, with coverage on each race and how you can get started training. And if talk of running makes muscle tissue sore, we’ve got a review in the fabulous new Four Seasons Resort Orlando spa.
About the Author
Bob Sehlinger, a Lowell Thomas Award-winning journalist, is advisable known as the creator and producer of “The Unofficial Guide” series.
He will be the founder and co-owner of Keen Communications, a manuscript publishing company which includes Menasha Ridge Press, Clerisy Press, and Wilderness Press. The author of 27 books, Sehlinger is really a past president in the Publishers Association on the South, and hubby has served in the invitation from the U.S. State Department and also the U.S. Information Service on educational missions for publishers in Hungary, Romania, and Russia. He lives in Birmingham, AL.
A lifelong Disney theme park fan, Len Testa co-authors “The Unofficial Guides to Walt Disney World, Disneyland,” and “Britain s Best Days Out.” In grad school, Len s master s thesis described new computer procedures for generating efficient theme park touring plans, that Len was awarded a U.S. patent.
These days, Len leads they at TouringPlans.com, your website and research arm of The Unofficial Guides. Len has stayed each and every Disney hotel, experienced every Disney ride, and eaten at intervals of Disney restaurant and food cart within the U.S. When he s not at the Disney theme park, Len lives in Greensboro, NC.